Demon Brothers
by yubitsume
Summary: The orphaned brothers Ludwig and Gilbert discover that they are half demon and must face several dangers in order to protect eachother. No yaoi. Some genderbending
1. Chapter 1

Summary: Ludwig and Gilbert are orphaned teenagers who, after coming across strange marks appearing on their bodies, discover they are both half demon. No yaoi. Possible pairings in the future. Most likely will have gender bending.

I don't own Hetalia

Ludwig woke up to the sound of his brother groaning.

"_Bruder_," He shook the elder's shoulders, but Gilbert's eyes refused to open. The younger sighed. Nothing out of place. His brother always slept like a rock. One thing did seem slightly odd though. Gilbert never had nightmares. At least he claimed not to. Ludwig always believed him though, due to the fact that the albino would never show signs of nightmares, unlike him.

Then Ludwig realized that his brother was not dreaming. Tears ran down the teenager's pale face, and his fingers dug into his pillow, obviously from pain.

"_Bruder_!" The German, not completely in control of his own strength, shook his brother until he fell off of the bed.

"Oof!"

Whoops.

Ludwig made his way around the bed to see if his brother was alright. Sure enough, Gilbert sat oddly on the floor in a mess of covers and pillows, a bewildered look dressing his face. His reddish pinkish eyes looked at his brother's blue ones, "West?"

Ludwig rubbed his temple. "I'm sorry. You were having a bad dream. What was I supposed to do?"

"No I wasn't." Gilbert rose from his position on the ground, glaring at his brother accusingly. "I never have nightmares, you know that West." He placed his hand on his hip, trying to look pissed, but in his light blue pajamas, the pose looked somewhere from cute to ridiculous.

Ludwig proved himself by pointing at the Prussian's cheeks. Gilbert looked at Ludwig for a second, slightly confused. "What? Do I have something on my face?" Ludwig rolled his eyes and reached to touch his brother's pale skin.

He shoved his finger in the albino's field of vision.

"You were crying."

A shocked look on his face, the albino rubbed at his cheeks, and like Ludwig had claimed, they were puffy and wet. "No fucking way!" Gilbert ran his hand across his face, desperate to clear away the tears, but just ended up making his light skin more red and irritated.

"Just go back to bed, Gil." Ludwig made a beeline for his, but was interrupted by his brother.

"Wait, Luddy!"

Ludwig grimaced at his nickname.

"Something must be wrong. I never have nightmares!" He threw his arms out dramatically. Classic Gilbert, Ludwig thought.

"There is a first time for everything, _bruder_. Now, go to bed." The tall blond reentered the space of his sleeping quarters, ignoring his immature older sibling. Only a second later did Ludwig feel something heavy crash onto his bed.

"What the hell are you doing! ?" Ludwig pushed his brother off of his mattress, his tolerance becoming dangerously low.

Gilbert pouted. "But what if I have nightmares again?"

"You just said that you don't have nightmar-" A sudden, sharp pain in Ludwig's back caught him off guard. He doubled over, unable to heel the discomfort.

"West?" A look of genuine alarm came to Gilbert's face. "You okay?" Gilbert crawled back into his brother's bed, concern staining his red eyes. "Are you in pain? Lemme see." Lacking Ludwig's consent, the elder forced the black wife beater off the German and began to study his back.

"Is there anything out of place?" The younger didn't complain, too overwhelmed by the pain. He could feel Gilbert's hands rubbing up and down his spine and shoulder blades, examining him for any wounds. Although the twisting was deep in the muscle tissue, the Prussian's cold touch still felt somewhat soothing.

"Well, your back is as hard as a rock, but nothing seems out of the ordinary." Gilbert chuckled and his brother scowled. Yes, Ludwig was a very stressed individual, which would tend to cause his muscles to tense up horribly. He even remembered his brother trying several times to find pressure points during sparring sessions, but couldn't reach them due Ludwig being so strictly wound.

A loud click sounded when the Prussian pulled the chain to the youngest's reading lamp. Squinting, Ludwig turned his head quickly from the light as Gilbert continued to study his back.

"It feels like you have bumps under your shoulder blades. Like, unusually big, even for someone like y-" The eldest fell silent for a moment before his eyebrows and mouth positioned themselves into a scowl.

"What?"

The Prussian held his face next to the German's, making his displeasure clear. He didn't answer.

"What?!" The blond exclaimed even louder, fearing what his brother had to say.

"West...when did you get a tattoo?"

Ludwig blinked. "Vuat are you talking about?"

The albino jabbed his finger in the German's back. "Right here! When the hell did you get it Luddy , and why didn't you take me with you when you did?"

Ludwig stared at his brother for a moment, trying to determine whether he was serious or not, which, was rather hard to tell with somebody like Gilbert.

Ludwig rose from his bed and started towards the bathroom connected to their room. Once there, he examined his back through the mirror. Sure enough, ink colored marks stretched down his torso, hugging both sides of his rib cage. They reminded him of a flame or unwinding wind, swirling in and out of itself. Gilbert entered the room, a not too happy look on his face.

"What the hell, West. I thought that I was the rebellious one here. And why did you get a tattoo anyway?"

"I did not. I don't know what this is." Ludwig's piercing blue eyes held nothing but sincerity, but Gilbert still found it difficult to believe him. He poked at the German's marks mischievously, causing his brother to jump slightly. In a swift motion, Ludwig grabbed hold of Gilbert's arm.

"Stop that. It hurts."

The Prussian snickered at his brother's insecurities, but stopped once he found the look on Ludwig's face.

Now it was his turn. "What?" Gilbert followed the youngest's stare down to their hands. That is when Gilbert noticed the matching marks that peeked out of his sleeves, and onto his own hands. He took back his arm, and pulled the pajama sleeve to his elbow. Shocked, the Prussian admired them for a second, before having a completely different reaction than Ludwig.

"This is...AWESOME!" Similar to those of a child's who just entered a toy store, Gil's eyes grew round and shiny with excitement. His marks went from his hands all the way to his shoulders and neck.

Ludwig face palmed before comparing his own tattoos to his brother's. The pattern was the same, but something seemed to be different. Both of their marks were black and came in pairs, but when they reflected the light properly, the colors appeared different. While the Prussian's were a shade of firey red, the German's showed themselves to be an ominous violet.

"They're different colors." Ludwig confirmed, becoming slightly amused and catching his brothers attention.

Gilbert waved his wrists under the bathroom lights, clearly enjoying himself.

Ludwig couldn't help but smile, the pain in his back vanished along with the confusion that came with the tattoos. Gilbert took hold of Ludwig's wrist, turning off the bathroom light and leading the youngest to the front door.

"Where are we going?" The two orphaned brothers lived alone in a house on the edge of the city, close to it and able to see its lights easily, but were also surrounded by wilderness.

"You'll see." His older brother stated simply, enthusiasm staining every word.

He led them outside. From their house, the two could clearly see the lively city below them, along with the glowing full moon.

The Prussian cheered happily, and looked at Ludwig, the glow of the city and the moon reflecting in his red eyes. Then the younger brother noticed another light as well, this one much more powerful. The once iredescent gleam of Gilbert's tattoos was now replaced with an incandescent one, absorbing all the light and glowing nonstop. Now they really looked like fire.

Gilbert pointed to his brother, a wide smile on his face. Ludwig glanced at his still naked chest, a portion of his mark stretching towards the front of his torso. They mimicked his brother's, radiating with power, but instead of a red, they were a deep purple, reminding the German of shadow, the night, and the dark sky. Ludwig's smile also mirrored his brother's.

"This is a-"

"Awesome? !"

Ludwig chuckled softly. "I was going to say amazing, but _ja_, zat is the general feeling."

Gilbert rolled his eyes playfully at his brother's need to be specific. They hadn't been this happy in a long time. Ludwig and Gilbert used to enjoy full moon nights like this, but all that ended when their mother died three years ago, when Gil was sixteen and Ludwig was only fourteen. It felt as though the two always had a wall between them since then.

But now, said wall had been destroyed by something. They felt connected again not only to eachother, but to the mother they had lost years ago. Something new was awakening.

Still...

"_Bruder_."

"West, please don't spoil the fun." The Prussian countered the German's words before he even spoke them, showing just how well he knew his brother.

Ludwig sighed and continued despite his brother's complaints. "We still need to figure out what these things are exactly." He looked at his own marks, then pointed to Gilbert's. In defense, the albino hid his arms, as if his brother planned to steal the runes which lay on his skin.

Ludwig's brow twitched and he shook his head, practically feeling the wall rise between them again. "Let's just go to bed und deal with it in the morning." The blond extended a hand to his older brother, offering cooperation. The albino studied the hand and Ludwig's eyes before finally taking it. Together, they reentered the house, unaware that they were being watched.

From not too deep in the trees, two voices spoke to each other.

"Are you sure, Arthur? They don't look very much like demons." The first voice, slightly cocky and loud pitched, questioned the other.

"Positive." The second one answered in a British accent. "I think they're trying to hide their energy, but trust me, I can still sense it. Deep down, those two are monsters." After confirming their targets, they retreated back into the forest, preparing for the big night ahead of them.


	2. From Bad to Worse

**Hello, good to have you back again! I'm gonna start by saying that we will see the appearance of three Hetalia characters in this chapter. In the future, there could possibly be some gender bending, but it's not for sure at the moment. Enjoy!**

Ludwig's cold hand pressed against his brother's steaming forehead. The oldest's pleading eyes burned through his brother's, waiting for the worst.

"You have a fever." Ludwig confirmed, much to Gilbert's dismay. A long groaning sound escaped the older's burning lips.

"Daaaammmmmmiiitttt..." His tattooed hand reached for his sibling. "Soooooooo emmmmmmpppttttttttttyyyyyyyy ...Weeeeeeeeesssssssssssttttttt ttt...feeeeeeeeeddd meeeeeeeeeeeee..." Ludwig facepalmed at his brothers melodramatic personality. He always got like this when sick, and Ludwig was the only one to care for him at the moment.

The German left the room and returned with a wet piece of cloth and a bucket of ice water.

Gil frowned. "I said I was hungry, not dry."

"_Ja_, but you're burning up." Ludwig placed the rag on his brothers forehead and could practically see the steam eminating from it's surface. The Prussian let out a happy sigh, obviously enjoying the cold water. Ludwig stood, about to head to the kitchen, when Gilbert gave him a stern look.

"What?" The German rubbed at his temple.

"You don't feel well either, do you, West? You're sweating." Gilbert was right. the pressure in Ludwig's upper torso had returned and a thin sheet of sweat was now forming on his pale skin.

The youngest shook his head defiently. "I'm still in better condition than you, _bruder_."

"Bull. Shit." Gilbert reached over to the nightstand imbetween their beds. Once Ludwig realized what Gilbert was doing, it was his turn to show dismay.

"Gilbert..." A stern look dressed the youngest's face. Gilbert ignored it and began to dial a number from his cell.

He placed the small object next to his ear, and waited a few rings until somebody finally answered.

Ludwig heard an irritated mumble from inside the phone.

"Hey Roddy, do you think you could come over ... we're sick ... Yes, West too- No! I'm not drunk! ... Yes, I'm sure! ... Well-no ... I don't know why it's at the same time, will you just ... Hey! Bite me, you unawesome prick ... Roderich, I swear to god, if you don't get your uptight ass over here right now, I will get drunk and use that damn piano of yours as a vomiting bucket!" Ludwig heard the mumble on the other side become rushed and livid. "Try me! I don't give a shit what Elizaveta will do! ... Yeah ... okay ... fine, fine. whatever ... Thanks, Roddy, I ... Yeah, yeah, I hate you to. West says 'hi'."

With that, Gilbert hung up, and looked at his displeased brother.

"Gilbert, what have you done." The sheer forboding in his voice morphed the question to a grim statement.

Gilbert shrugged. "Oh, don't get your panties in a bunch, West. Uncle Roddy used to take care of us all the time."

"_Ja_, and we both agreed that it was utter hell."

Gilbert turned his head at the blond's words, too aware of the truth in them.

When they were little, there were a few seperate occasions when they had to stay with their uncle, due to their mother being unable to care for them at the moment. Gilbert would always go around breaking things, provoking their uncle's wrath, which, eventually resulted in both them being thrown into an empty room in order to "think about what they have done". The sound of Roderich's fingers flying angerly over the piano still echoed in both of their heads to this very day.

"He's in our house now, Luddy. He can't do shit to us here." the albino found his cocky grin once more, while Ludwig remained smug looking.

With a sigh, the youngest went to his side of the room and collapsed on his matress, fearing the dreadful afternoon ahead.

Only an hour later did they hear a knock echo throughout the two story house. neither sibling answered it, aware of the fact that their uncle owned a spare key to almost anything and everything. Sure enough, the sound of footsteps steadily climbing the stairs soon filled their ears.

"If this is a prank of some sort, Gilbert, I swear-" Roderich's livid voice cut off once he saw his two nephews. They both lay shirtless, obviously overheated, with their tattoos completely visible. Once the Prussian realized that they had forgotten to cover them, he expected Roderich to throw a tantrum. Instead, a fearful look entered his dark blue eyes, as if he expected it.

The pianist sat akwardly in Ludwig's study chair, rubbing his forehead. "I think we need to have a talk."

The Prussian frowned. "Okay, whatever, but first," He reached out his arm like he did with Ludwig earlier, "feed me..."

Instead of giving Gilbert a look like he usually did, Roderich grasped the albino's arm and studied the marks closely.

Gilbert snickered, seeing this as the perfect opportunity to freak his uncle out. "Oh, these?" He started in an oh-so-innocent tone. "Yeah, West and I got a little too drunk last night and decided that getting tattoos would be an awesome idea. He cried the whole time too, claiming that I was a horrible influence and all that jazz. Keseseses." He made the lie obvious by saying that Ludwig had listened to him and that he cried from physical pain, neither of which, even when drunk, did Ludwig ever do.

Roderich sighed, seeing Gilbert as a lost cause, and proceeded towards Ludwig, the more cooperative of the two.

In response, the German looked the brunnet headed man straight in the eye. "Do you know what these are?" He stretched his arm behind his back, making sure Roderich knew what he spoke of.

The man gave a nod and sat on Ludwig's bed. "To an extent, yes." His dark eyes held a grim expression. Gilbert perked up at Roderich's reply.

"Then explain." "Spill it, dipshit!" Ludwig punched his brother in the arm and told him to be quiet.

Instead of telling the brothers what they were willing to hear, the Austrian talked quietly to himself. "But Hella and Alvar took all the procautions. How could this have happened?" Disbelief dripped off every word and his face scrunched in deep contemplation. "And at the same time to...no, it's impossible." Gilbert, annoyed , waved his hand infront of Roderich's face to recapture his attention.

After recovering, their uncle started to question several things, like if they had felt any type of a pressure within their body, did the tattoos glow when in moonlight, and if were they unable to sleep at times. The two answered yes to all of them, much to Roderich's disliking.

His gloved hand pressed against his left temple and his face fell even more, which seemed impossible.

"What I am about to tell you two cannot be taken lightly. You are both in terrible danger."

...

Night had fallen by the time the three Germanics had made it on the road. Gilbert eyed his and his brother's marks as they absorbed the moon's energy and shone through their shirts, thinking of how they resembled fire and shadow. Ludwig however, remained cautious and on guard as the street passed beneath them. The car gradually made its way through the dark forest around their house as Roderich enlightened the brothers of their lineage.

"This comes from your mother's side of the family, which is not precisely human."

Gilbert and Ludwig each raised a brow at the statement. "Then what is it, if not human?" Ludwig questioned.

"Demon." Roderich said without hesitation.

Gilbert almost laughed at the absurdity, but then remembered that he was practically a living neon sign at the moment.

"What are you talking about, uncle?" Ludwig showed minor interest, but still kept his eyes on the trees outside, watching out for anything suspicious. All of them knew what a moving target they were with the violet and red light filling the car, nearly blinding them.

"Is there a way you can turn that off?" The Austrian complained while shielding his eyes

"Wish we knew of one, but we don't. Now keep explaining." Gilbert rotated his wrist in a motion which basically meant ' stop stalling and hurry the fuck up'.

Roderich sighed and opened his mouth to continue, but stopped when the window to the passenger seat exploded, sending small shards of glass towards him and causing him to lose control of the car. Gilbert threw an arm over Ludwig and braced himself as they swirved and crashed into a nearby tree.

...

Ludwig's eyes fluttered open to somebody shaking him.

"West! West! Wake up!" Tears hugged the albino's red eyes as his voice cracked slightly. " P-please..." Ludwig had a slight reaction to the name. West, he thought. West...

His eyes opened fully to see his brother, but couldn't get a word in before Gilbert pulled him into a relieved hug.

"_Bruder_..."

" Don't scare me like that again, you _dummkopf_! I thought you were dead!" He punched his younger brother in the back before pulling from the trashed car. "Somebody shot at us! We gotta move."

"What about Roderich?"

"He'll be fine! They're after us, not him." The older led his barely conscious sibling towards the road, anxious to seperate both of them from any danger. Unfortunately, danger found them instead.

"Alfred, you wanker, don't underestimate them!" An angry voice scolded from the trees as a tall figure emerged with a rifle in his hands. The man appeared about West's age, maybe younger, and owned blond hair with a brown tint and a cocky grin.

"Nah! I'll be fine, Arthur. I am the hero after all!" He pointed the mouth of the gun towards the Germans and laughed. "Besides, these guys are not near as tough as you claimed for them to be! A bunch of pussies if you ask me." He squeezed the trigger, but before he could shoot, a determined Prussian charged and tackled him. A surprised yelp left the man's lips as he fell to the ground, dropping his gun in the process.

"Dammit, Alfred!" Another figure emerged from the forest and sliced the air with his hands, creating colorful streams of blue light which strategically wrapped themselves around the albino's limbs, restraining him.

"West, run!"

The two english speakers heard him say to his comrade.

Alfred stood and grabbed his rifle, and shot at the rustling on the other side of the street, unaware if he missed or not. The younger had escaped. Alfred sighed before jerking his body around and hitting the albino with the butt of his gun, knocking him out instantly.

"Ah fuck! I had him!" The American whined as the other rolled his emerald colored eyes.

"No, you did not." Arthur's fingers jerked in several directions, willing the blue strands to bring the unconscience one closer to him. He studied the marks that ran from the man's hands, all the way to his shoulders and neck. They glowed an ember red while Arthur was pretty sure the blonde one's were purple. They both shone wildly, showing the English man just how powerful the two were.

A look of excitement came to his face, a plan already starting to form in his head.

**Uh-oh. Arthur's rape face. Hahaha! Just kidding! I cannot thank you enough for reading. Until next time, have a very pasta day! :D**


	3. A Threat or a Joke

**Hello, my dear readers. Yubitsume here with another installment of DB! To the readers of my other story, Blood Debt ( if any are here ), I apologize, but I am planning to restart it. This series however, seems to be coming together quite nicely, so I doubt that I will be making any adjustments. Enjoy da story and PLEASE REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! ! !**

The German wobbled unsteadily while trying to find his way back to the road. He craddled the shoulder that the American had sent a bullet straight through. The wound threatened to spew more blood every time he began to ease the pressure he was putting on it, so he refrained from doing so.

He had to find Gilbert. Or his uncle. Somebody.

Unfortunately, he had only found himself lost in the dark of the woods, unable to retrace his rushed footsteps. When his brother had told him to run, Ludwig had felt a large amount of hesitation, knowing that Gilbert could have easily been killed. Yet, he fled anyway, also aware that he was of more use to his brother alive, rather than dead. Still, he felt ashamed and cowardly for taking the easy way out, although none of this was truly easy, but instead, simply less difficult.

Exhausted, Ludwig collapsed halfway onto a nearby tree before sliding down its rough surface all the way to the ground. Blood stained the tree in a long, thick line tracing back to the injured German.

Like he always did in stressful situations, ( which there were many of in Ludwig's life ) Ludwig closed his eyes and thought, taking as much time as he needed to find a solution to the problem.

_We are demons,_ _Gilbert and I. We recieved this from our mother, who was also a demon. _Ludwig's thoughts felt tainted and unreal. His mother, the kind, sympathetic, loving woman she was, surely could not have been a monster. he mentally shook his head. _We are not human as well, ' _He reminded himself realistically, '_Yet we still feel human emotions and have never knowingly hurt anybody.' _That specific thought brought him to an important question, causing his blue eyes to widen in realization.

"Why are they hunting us then...?" The blonde thought aloud, to compelled by the question to merely think it. Were they a threat?

He raised the hand that wasn't occupied with his shoulder to eye level, and studied the extrimity. The German was fare skinned like the rest of his known family, and his fingernails, although caked with blood and dirt, still held a neatness to them, clean cut and straight. Ludwig had always been a bit of a neat freak.

Suddenly, his nails grew into something different right before his very eyes. The thin, clear plates became thicker and sharper as they elongated. Startled, but amused, Ludwig kept his hand steady and allowed the transformation to complete itself. Soon, the change stopped, settling on something his demon blood found satisfactory. Long, razor sharp black claws.

His brow furrowed slightly. "Roderich wasn't lying. This...this proves it." Amazed, he rotated his hand 180 degrees, admiring the tiny blades that protruded from his skin, which drew a small amount of blood in the process. They could probably cut through wood, the German noted, very keenly.

Forcing himself to stand, Ludwig positioned himself in a fighting stance, something that felt natural to him. Usually in fights, Ludwig would strike with his fists and legs ( he had a knack for roundhouse kicks ), but this time, he treated his arm like a deadly blade. Carefully and percisely, he struck the tree before him.

Ludwig had expected a few slash marks if anything, but what followed after his attack answered his question of whether or not he was a threat.

It fell with a loud crunch that echoed throughout the thick, matured tree that had once stood proud and whole now lay in tatters. The German had broken the tree as if it were a toothpick, and in only one blow. His brow twitched.

Speechless, ludwig tried to determine if he had really done that, but then came to the conclusion that the tree was the least of his worries.

"What the hell was that? !" The sound of one of the hunters approaching made his heart squeeze in fear, despite the power he head just demonstrated. Quickly, Ludwig chose one of the trees that still remained standing as a hiding spot.

He saw three familiar figures, two of which stood above the fallen tree, studying it. The other lay in some sort of magical net, huffing and sweating ( from what seemed like a fever ) with an intense red light surrounding him.

Gilbert.

" Shut up, you bloody idiot! It could still be here!" The shorter one scolded his brother only to have his brother laugh dumbly. The older one sighed and closed his eyes, focusing, as if trying to sense something in the atmosphere. After only a few seconds he opened his eyes and confirmed, "It is close."

Ludwig shuddered, assuming that he was 'it'. He forced his body to become as stiff and still as possible, but then remembered something important. His tattoos making him a lit target in the dark scenery.

"_Striesse_." He cursed in German under his breath

...

Gilbert focused and thought hard, something he rarely ever did. As he exhaled, he could feel the heat slowly pushing itself out of his body, but it would always retreat back when it reached his fingertips.

"Striesse." He muttered. He had been at this for hours, trying to find a way to break the forces which bound him, and failing pathetically each and every time. He was a demon correct? Being a demon equals a shit load of power ( well,... according to anime and American movies it did ). So...

Why the fuck was this not working! ? !

The Prussian sighed and repeated the same routine. Nothing. Again, he tried to summon his power. Again nothing. Each time he failed, the feverish feeling would swell within him, increasing in intensity. If he was unable to do this properly, Gilbert knew for sure that the energy would escape one way or another, even if it meant destroying him in the process.

Gilbert jumped at the sound of something crashing to the ground, his captors mimicked his surprise.

" What the hell was that? !" One of the men, the taller one exclaimed while squeezing his gun in anticipation, clearly craving violence. The other told him to shut up and left to investigate the sound, his brother following with an amused expression tied to his face.

Even The Awesome Gilbert gasped when he saw where the sound originated from. Only a few yards away from the three lay a gigantic tree, dead and shattered into dozens of pieces. Although his vision was blurred, the Prussian could still tell that it hadn't been worn at by an ax or saw over time, but instead, been smashed by a huge force all together. Gilbert pondered what could have done such a thing when he felt a familiar aura touch his senses. In response, his light red eyes darted around the landscape, searching for what he had felt. Then he saw it.

A dark violet light barely peeked out from behind a another tree, this one damaged, but still standing.

_'Gott dammit, West.'_ His eyes darted from his brother's hiding spot to the hunters, who were too distracted by the situation to notice the demon ( other than him ) practically right next to them.

Gilbert sighed and wrapped his fingers around the netting once more. " Well, West is probably scared shitless by now." He chuckled. " What better time to risk my life than now." With one last effort, the Prussian attempted to free himself using magic. This time, the heat came to his fingers easily and the magical net sparked in potest against his flesh as the two energies met eahother.

Arthur jerked as if somebody had slapped him, then turned to face their former prisoner, who had not only suceeded in escaping, but also setting himself on fire.

**Sorry for the lack of action in this chapter. I promise there will be more in the future. Anyway, thank you all and PLEASE REVIEW and tell me if you're excited about something that happened in the story, or if you have anything interesting on your mind that you'd like to see in upcoming chapters. Can't guarantee that i'll put your idea in there, but it's worth a shot. Thank you and have a very pasta day! :D**


	4. DISC

**I** **am going to start by saying that you see the appearence of a few more Hetalia characters in this chapter. I apologize for the last one being so short and barely having a point to it...er...except for Prussia doing something stupid and destructive which, admit it, we all know we love! Anyway, enjoy! **

**Warnings: Some language ( provided by Prussia of course )**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN HETALIA! THERE! I SAID IT!**

" Shit! Shit! SHIT! SHIT!" The terrified Prussian swatted at his arms and torso in attempt to put out the fire. In a panic, Ludwig had left his hiding spot to aid his brother.

" HOW ZE HELL DID YOU EVEN MANAGE TO DO SOMEZING LIKE ZIS! ?" Ludwig exclaimed , utterly shocked, while trying to keep his brother calm while also attempting to smoother the fire, but to no avail. When he remembered them not being alone, his blue eyes darted to the two others, then noticed something strange.

The hunters weren't taking any action. Despite this being the perfect opportunity, the one with a shot gun held it carelessly towards the ground while the other just stared.

When the fire started to calm down, as well as Gilbert, Ludwig took hold of his brother's somehow untouched arm and began to run in the opposite direction, mumbling things about how foolish he had been and hoping his wound didn't start bleeding again.

Unfortunately, they had already entered Arthur's trap. With a snap of his fingers, the perimeter began to glow an intense blue. He had carefully placed everything he needed for the trap while dragging the Prussian in his net. Now it finally payed off. His plan had suceeded.

Ludwig and Gilbert were blinded by blue light before they were overcome by darkness.

...

The truck hit another bump, causing its "cargo" to fly this way and that, and usually ended in one of them face planting into its hard walls.

Ludwig cursed in German after slamming face first into the side of the truck.

Again.

"Try keeping yourself in the corner, West. It helps." The albino offered some advice to his distressed brother. They were both tied up, preventing them from using their hands. Gilbert lay nestled in the back corner of the truck, fearing to move from all the previous face plants.

Ludwig flashed angry eyes at his brother. "Shut up." He growled, his bloody forehead furrowing in pain and frustration. He wished that he still had his claws, but when he awoke, they were gone and Gilbert was unable to summon the fire again

Gilbert turned his head and scoffed. "Whatever, I'm only trying to help. You don't have to be so unawesome about it." They had been in there for hours and both of them were getting on eachother's last nerves.

Ludwig sighed, wanting so badly to rub at his temples or face palm. "I'm sorry, bruder. Vue should stop arguing und use zis time to figure out how vue're going to get out of zis mess." The blonde showed the sincerity of his apology by scooting towards the corner opposite to Gilbert and taking his advice. Unfortunately, Ludwig, although younger, was taller and more built than his brother and couldn't fit as well as him. Still, Gilbert was right.

"Where do you think they're taking us?" Gilbert asked something neither of them could answer, a bad habit of his.

The younger shook his head, but still tried to shed some light on the situation. " I haven't a clue, but zey knew vuat we are, so vuair ever vue're going, it obviously has to somezing to do vuith our...uh...heredity."

"No shit, sherlock." The Prussian commented sarcastically. The German replied by kicking him in the gut, silencing him for a few moments.

Ludwig sighed again as Gilbert lay gasping on the floor. He rested his head against the cold steel behind him, slightly fearing whatever lay in the future. He really needed a beer.

Ludwig wondered how long it had been since their lives were turned upsidedown. Not too long ago, were the two sleeping soundly in bed, nightmares such as these not once even touching there minds. But now, not only did they exist, but they had become the brothers' reality. They were in a living nightmare.

The next few hours were uneventful, save the brothers' constant bickering. Gilbert leaned foward, determined to give his sibling a piece of his mind, abandoning the safety of his corner in the process. "Y'know West, you aren't always righ-" The truck suddenly stopped to a hault, causing Gilbert to kiss the floor, mid-sentence. Now Ludwig REALLY needed a beer.

The older brother groaned. The younger glared at him and hissed for him to be quiet. Gilbert obliged, much to his own dismay as Ludwig pressed his ear against the wall, hoping to hear something. All he heard were footsteps, but no voices to match them.

The doors to the carrier opened, daylight deluging in heavy amounts from the outside. The brothers squinted, their eyes not yet adjusted from the hours of darkness. Before they could react, two pairs of hands grabbed each of them, and led them from the car. Ludwig, returning to survival mode, took in his surroundings. A huge layered building hugged the side of a rock formation before him and he could hear waves crashing against rock. When he peered over his own shoulder, the shock appeared clear on his face. They were on an island? How long were they unconscience?

Their captors were nowhere to be seen as the four men led them inside. The building owned several entrances, all of which were abnormally huge and disguised as tunnels. After entering one of them, Ludwig began to take note of each hallway they passed and how many doors each one owned. Everything appeared to be white, even the uniforms of the men restraining them, and each hallway seemed to be infinite in length, but were rather narrow. Good thing Ludwig wasn't claustraphobic.

By the time Ludwig began to lose count, they had arrived to a door that stood out from everything else, its surface being silver rather than stark white. The men waited until the door slid opened by itself, revealing two short figures inside standing behind a desk.

Ludwig and Gilbert exchanged concerned glances, obviously not liking the looks of it. The guards cut the ropes that bound the brothers' limbs and escorted them into the room.

One of the two figures gave the German brothers a disapproving look, the dismay clear on her tan face. " Well this is odd." When she spoke, Ludwig realized that she was not a woman, but rather a feminant man. The man appeared to be in his early thirties and asian. He wore long red, asian-styled clothing which clashed oddly with the plain room around them. The slightly taller one next to him, who was also asian but with darker hair, seemed to be near Ludwig's or Gilbert's age. His clothes matched the room except for two black stripes running across each shoulder, lined with gold.

Gilbert recoiled when the androgonous man reached for his head, and stared at Ludwig for help, even though he could offer none. An irritated look surfaced on the asian's face, but was aimed at the guards rather than Gilbert. They took the hint and obediently lowered Gilbert to their boss's level, allowing him acess. His hand felt around the Prussian's hair, searching for something. When he could not find it, he signaled for the guards to bring Ludwig foward. They did as their boss comanded, and he repeated the routine, messing up whatever portion of Ludwig's hair still lay slicked back. When he did not find what he was looking for on the blonde either, he fell back into his chair, a perplexed look on his face.

"This makes no sense, aru." His brown eyebrows furrowed in unpleasant confusion. After a few moments, his matching brown eyes brightened and he reached for Gilbert's arm. In response, Gilbert spat on him. In response to his response, the other asian man grabbed hold of Gilbert's head and slammed it against the desk mercilously.

"Bruder!" Ludwig attempted to aid the older but stopped when the dark haired asian put a sword to his throat. Piercing blue eyes met empty brown ones, each shining menacingly at the other.

The boss's hand slowly reached for his own face where Gilbert had dishonored him, but refused to touch it, and instead, wiped the substance away with his long sleeve. His eyes met with the one who held Ludwig and Gilbert at bay. "Kiku." Although calm, his voice held a burning malice. "Let them go." He demanded. Kiku's lifeless eyes looked towards his boss, then released the two demons without saying a word. Ludwig sighed from the relief, a small amount of blood dripping down his pale neck. Gilbert, however, had not learned his lesson.

"What the hell do you want with us, you colorful little prick!" Gilbert growled, demanding answers.

The boss smiled. "I'd perfer it if you'd call me by my name rather than such using unflattering language, aru. I am Wang Yao." Gilbert snickered, probably thinking about the irony of his insult choice, but stopped when his eyes met Wang's big brown ones. Despite the fact that they appeared to belong to a little girl, Wang's eyes held an intense power to them. A power that threatened to disintegrate you at the touch.

"I must admit, you two have very striking features, but then again, most humanoid demons do. What a shame it is, them being paired with such disgusting personalities, aru." He scoffed, then continued before Gilbert could throw another tantrum. "I am sure you are both aware of what you are with how...um...well you are taking 'this', but you are both unaware of what 'this' all is, am I correct, aru?" This time, Gilbert mimicked his brothers stare instead of lashing out. For once, the seemingly opposite brothers shared a muttual feeling. Anxiety.

Wang, who seemed to be enjoying the sudden attention, continued. " This is DISC. Demon Immigration Service and Control, aru. When demons come to earth, which happens quite often, their first desire is to cause chaos. DISC was formed to control that and to keep the human population safe. I am the director of this organization." He stopped speaking then, allowing the brothers to ask him questions, if any.

Surprisingly, Ludwig was the one to speak up this time. He said what both of them were secretly thinking.

" You're not going to kill us?"

His words made the Prussian beside him jump in anticipation. Gilbert gave Ludwig a glare that told him to shut up, as if the act of keeping quiet about the possibility of death would spare them both. Ludwig knew better so he ignored his sibling.

Wang shook his head, causing his small ponytail to lose its place on his shoulder. He quickly readjusted it. " No. Usually, we just cut off the demon's horns, but seeing how you two have none, there seems to be a bit of a problem, aru." His brow furrowed. " If the demon's horns are cut off, they are unable to produce offspring with demonotic blood and cannot use their magic afterwards." Wang's eyes held something to them that told Ludwig that he wasn't telling them everything. Ludwig reminded himself to remain cautious, for they still knew very little. "From then on, they are either sent back to hell, or allowed to live a life on earth, under our watch, of course, aru. You two, however, were born on earth from what I can see, therefor we cannot send you to hell, aru."

Now, Gilbert decided to ask the obvious question. " So, if we don't have horns, what do you plan to do with us?" Judging by the look in his eyes, Ludwig guessed that Gilbert saw through Wang's lie as well.

Wang stood from his chair, his eyes closed. "The only explaination for you two not owning horns is for you to both only be half demon. Human-demon relationships are illegal unless the parents have clearence to do so, aru. But DISC had no clue about both of you existing until just a few weeks ago, when you both awakened, aru, meaning your parents must have done this behind our backs. Therefor, both of you are illegal, meaning you have no rights to be on this earth." Wang's eyes opened, revealing nothing but deceit and malicous intent. "By law, you're both property of DISC."

Gilbert's reaction was swift. After hearing the horrible truth, he kicked the men behind him in a useless attempt to escape, while Ludwig just stared, trying to determine whether this was all real or not. Wang answered his question with a flick of his wrist, signaling the guards to take them to who knows where.

Kiku put the tip of his katana to Gilberts throat, like he had done with Ludwig only moments earlier. Yet, Gilbert fearlessly ( or stupidly ) kicked the weapon out of the asian's hand and rammed into his brother's captors. The force sent Ludwig out of their hands and too a nearby wall, causing him to gasp quickly as a sharp pain hit his left shoulder. Suddenly, Ludwig became surrounded by red liquid. It stained the insanely clean white floor and walls around him. The intense contrast of the two colors looked surreal to the German. Like an artwork of gore against a crude canvas.

His bullet wound had reopened.

When Gilbert saw the blood that surrounded his brother and realized what had happened, he started for him. "West!" Unfortunately, his men and the ones that had held Ludwig both grabbed hold of him before he could reach the younger.

Ludwig watched helplessly as Gilbert was sedated and dragged from the room, barely awake, but still distressed. Ludwig wondered if he would ever see his brother again. Would he ever see daylight again? Was he meant to die here? But he couldn't do that. Ludwig had too many reasons to live, too many people he loved, too many mornings to wake up to. Mornings where he would wake up to his brother nagging him to make breakfast, then clean up Gilbert's mess after the albino ate his food like a wild animal. Who would save his brother when he had Elizaveta after him, then tolerate him ranting on about the 'unawesomeness' of the situation? Ludwig's eyes began to close involuntarily, living having become too much of a hassle on his body.

But he didn't want to die. He couldn't die. He wanted to live. If he died, who would...

...

Once finished admiring the deep shade of crimson, Wang turned away from the passed out German and to his own brother, Kiku. Kiku stared at him expectantly, awaiting his orders. Wang mentally reminded himself that his little brother was made like that. His behavior was normal.

Wang smiled warmly. " Could you call in the janitor to clean this mess up? The medics as well."

Kiku's dark brown eyes held nothing, but he did as Wang said. After retrieving his katana and leaving the room, he allowed himself to remember how much he hated his brother.

**Please tell me that this chapter had enough drama. Sorry if it got a little cheesy at the end. Please review and have a very pasta day!**


	5. What's to Come

**Hello, my readers! I apologize for not updating sooner. I was feeling rather indecisive with what to put in this chapter and kept redoing it over and over and over again. Eventually, I realized that i just needed to buckle down and put what I needed in here and not over think it too much. Luckily, I had some really good ideas for the future chapters and am now quite excited to continue. Enjoy!**

**Warning: Genderbending and it might get the slightest bit confusing at some parts.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.**

Ludwig's eyes fluttered open to a pure white room.

It took a few moments for him to regain the memory of what happened, which only made him more distressed. His fingers brushed over the bandages fastened around his left shoulder. They were thick and dry, but the German still felt much pain. Actually, his arm and shoulder were numb from what Ludwig guessed was either the shock to his nerves, or just some drugs his captors may have given him. Yet, he still felt a physical discomfort in his torso. But from what?

He stood sloppily, his head pounding. A grunt escaped from his clenched teeth when he felt the familiar pressure return to his upper-back. Only now, it had become even worse, to the point where he could barely breath. Weezing, the tall German leaned on the clean white wall behind him before eventually returning to a sitting position.

He cringed to the point where he could have sworn the blood flow to his forehead had been cut off.

"H-how am I supposed to find my brother...in a condition like this?" He questioned himself out loud, his form of a pep-talk. How was he supposed to find Gilbert at all? As far as Ludwig could see, the only exit from the room was a heavily locked door and he doubted that he'd receive any pity from the people who locked him in.

The cramping feeling came again so suddenly, Ludwig nearly screamed. By now he was sweating profusely and his muscles burned as if fire ants crawled through them. It came again and he had no choice but to throw his head back and howl away the agony. It helped. Barely.

His hands slapped against the ground as he hunched over. Why was he feeling like this? What could be causing such pain? Ludwig remembered his uncle asking he and his brother if they had felt any type of pressure in their bodies. Gilbert had told him that he felt pressure in his head and Ludwig had lied and said the same, not guessing it to be important. He came to regret that assumption.

Is this a part of the bodily changes that came with being a half breed? What was he going to turn into to?

The answer to Ludwig's question came in an odd, terrifying form.

Movement.

Ludwig raised his head, his pupils waning with fear and his mouth forming a tiny, quivering slit. It came again. Something was moving deep under his skin, he could feel it.

A blaring heat began to eminate from the German's upper back and he could feel the skin began to bruise from the inside, out.

_Vuat's happening to me?_

...

Cerberus, the largest prison facility owned by DISC and the holder of some of hell's most dangerous demons. Ones who kept coming back to earth, ones who defied the laws of both dimensions, ones who stole, raped and murdered. Ones like Ivan Braginsky.

He sat in his specialized cell, a plastic smile permenantly plastered to his face. _Yes, one day_, he thought. One day he'd see all of their tormented faces and he'd laugh quietly to himself.

A large cyndrilic shaped room was what he had come to call home, having been here for nearly a decade. His arms along with his torso and many other parts of his body were held by several large contraptions, made from a special substance designed to constrict his...abilities. Yet, the floors were covered in a thick ice, his ice, and no amount of collars, restraints, chains, spells, machinery, or specialized bullshit could change that. This was his sanctuary, a place that some human would dread to enter everyday.

This morning, it was a rather plain looking woman. He noted at how careful she was not to make eye contact. Nothing new. Most people were that way about looking him in the eye, something about him resembling a...what was it? Ahhhhh, yes, a sadistic ragdoll, that was it.

Without a word, she lifted a ladle filled with hot water to Ivan's mouth from several feet away. Ivan adjusted his position to where he could drink properly, coaxing a jingle out of the matching contraption encasing his chest and his...inhuman limbs, as some called them.

While drinking, Ivan peered downwards and noticed that the woman's skin was vibrating to conserve body warmth. The cold, was it?

Once the ladle had been emptied, Ivan lifted his head and grinned from ear to ear, trying desperately to ignore the horrible feeling of the hot water settling and swelling inside of his stomach. _One day_..., he chanted to himself. _One day, one day, one day, one day, one day..._

The woman retracted the ladel and anxiously turned on her heels towards the opposite direction, another common reaction Ivan usually got from humans.

A few feet from the door lay a rectangular control panel potruding from the ground. The woman placed herself behind it and started tweeking with its many panels and levers. A few moments later, Ivan felt the familiar sensation of boiling hot water coming into contact with his freezing skin. No words could describe how he hated this, how the chemical smell of the water singed his nose hairs, how the unforgiving water forced his body tempurature to rise, and at such a drastic rate too. Still, he forced himself to remain quiet and smiling.

Once the human saw him as clean, she shut off the water and lifted a clipboard to check off his condition. Wet hair in his eyes, Ivan huffed out the warm air out of his body and forced his core's heat to drop back to normal. Instantly, the ground beneath him froze once more and he could feel his blood finally begin to cool. He breathed out again, still grinning sweetly, before looking up at his tormentor and speaking through his fangs.

"Quite a lovely day, da?"

The human tore her eyes from her clipboard and looked at him. The edge of her lip twitched just the slightest bit, forming a tiny smile.

"Yes. Yes, it is." With that, the woman left the demon alone to his thoughts.

He smiled, this time for real.

One day, and that day appeared to be very soon.

...

Roderich stared at the ceiling above his bed, deep in thought.

It had taken him a full week to recover from his coma, only to discover his nephews had gone missing. He had filed several reports with the police, but he doubted that something like that could do any good in a situation like this. All he could do was think and wish his brother were here and Hella was still alive. They'd know what to do here, especially since they had evaded this problem for so many years.

A small knock sounded from the door. The Austrian looked from his bed towards where Elizaveta stood, carrying a tray of warm tea.

She approached him, smiling softly. He could see the concern that tinted the facial expression though. Not only did the Hungarian woman pity the Pianist, but she also had grown quite close to his nephews over the years, so he knew she was worried for them as well.

After pouring him a cup of tea, the light headed brunnet sat on the edge of the bed. Her eyes were one with the ground for a moment, before meeting with the Austrian's with fierce determination.

Roderich nearly choked on his tea. "Vuat?" His purple eyes held alarm, aware of just how reckless Eliza was in true nature. That was the part of her he had always found just a bit...unsavory. It reminded him too much of a certain albino.

"Mr. Roderich, there must be something vue can do." Her delicate hand reached for his, pleading in her shining green eyes.

He stared at them for a moment, mesmirized. He then sighed, causing the Hungarian to perk up similar to how a feline would.

"Vash." he answered sullenly.

Eliza cocked her head. "Your little sister? Vuat good vuill that do?"

Roderich shook his head. "Listen Elizaveta. There are things you don't know about this. Personal...erh...family issues." He hated explaining things. Roderich just wasn't a social person. Luckily, he had found Elizaveta to be unjudgemental and quite easy to talk to over the years. "Things that even I don't really understand. But it's my responsibility now." He had to refrain from using the word 'burden' instead.

Elizaveta balled her fist and closed her eyes. "Say no more, Mr. Roderich. Vuat do you need me to do?"

Slightly taken aback by the woman's willingness, Roderich continued. "I need to get a hold of her. Vue haven't spoken much over the years, but I still kept her number incase of an emergency." The brunnet headed man grimaced at the thought of his sister screaming at him over the phone, something he had been able to avoid for quite a while now. Looks like those days of bliss have come to an end. "It's on a piece of paper in my office somewhere. Can you bring it to me?" Elizaveta gave a quick nod and exited the room.

Roderich's brow twitched.

"I'm doing this for my nephews. I'm doing this for my brother. I'm doing this for peace of mind." He tried to reassure himself, using the pros to overpower the cons.

A memory of Vash shooting him in the foot last time he had seen her popped into his mind.

He bit his lip until he could swear he tasted blood. "I'm doing this for Hella. I'm doing this for Elizaveta. I'm doing this for-"

Another image of the week he and Vash had gone without their parents and she forced him to eat that disgusting store brand cheese, then broke his piano with the butt of her rifle when he couldn't keep from playing. Thank god Alvar was there as well. If not, he still didn't know if he would have survived those days.

"Mr. Roderich! I think I found ze number!" He could hear Eliza call from the end of the hall. His soul sunk into his stomach.

It wasn't working.

**Sorry if I pissed anyone off by genderbending Switzerland, then using his masculine name instead. I wanted to use a familiar title and I think Switzerland would be awesome as a woman ( and it was so much fun to make him/her the abusive younger sister :3 ). PLEASE REVIEW and if you feel like it, mention a Prussia pairing you like. I have a few in mind, but I'm really not sure. I'd like to have some opinions of my readers. They won't be yaoi, but the can be genderbended. I already have the Germany pairing in mind though, so we're good on that. :) Thank you. Pasta. Day. you get the drift.**


	6. Taking Action

**Yep, another update! Hello to my readers! I am happy to say that I'm not getting as much writers block on this as I was on the last chapter, so I was able to update alot sooner. Enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW!**

"Fuck you."

Yao stiffled a scowl.

He forced his frustration into the back of his throat "Listen. You could tell me the name of your mother and father, or..." He raised his voice slightly on the last word, "...we could force you to do a DNA test. Your choice, aru." Wang folded his arms neatly over his small chest and awaited the answer.

Gilbert glared at him for a second, as if to gauge how serious he was. Then he took a different route.

"My brother. Tell me where he is and I promise to not struggle."

Wang sighed. "We can't do that-"

"What? Treat me like I'm a human being with rights?"

"But you're not and you don't." Wang countered, his eyes becoming slanted daggers. "I already explained that we own you and your brother by law. That is the end of it!" He slammed his small hands on the desk infront of him, puffs of steam escaping his fevered head. They had been going at this all morning.

"Why not? And I thought we were still half human?"

"You are in no position to nagotiate!" Wang hissed threateningly.

"Who says i'm nagotiating. I want to know that my brother is safe, that's it." Gilbert countered, then started feeling of the smoothed metal around his neck. "And also, can you take this damn thing off?" The albino supposed that it was a collar of some sort, only he couldn't feel any type of indention or protrusion to indicate a lock or a latch or any type of release. It felt like nothing but a chunk of metal fastened around his throat.

Wang sighed, his knuckles turning white from having gripped the desk so long. He turned to Kiku, who had stood like a statue this whole time. Kiku glanced over at Yao, then nodded and walked up behind Gilbert and poked him in the arm with a needle.

Before the albino could react and snatch the DNA sample from him, the Japanese man dodged and neatly folded the needle in a plastic sack. He quickly bowed to his brother then left the room while two guards came and sucessfully held back the half demon.

Then Wang started laughing. Gilbert froze. He had imagined the guys laugh to sound evil, but instead it sounded...playful. Genuine, like he just saw somethingreally funny on TV. The kind of laugh that made you want to join him. Luckily, Gilbert was too dumbstruck to o anything so foolish.

Wiping tears from his thick lashes, Yao stated something vital to his character. "I don't like to make enemies, aru."

Still dumbstruck, all Gilbert could manage was a simple "Huh?", which only caused Yao to stiffle more laughter. With his composure regained, but the smile still wide on his face, he continued. "I made an enemy once, and he's done nothing but cause me trouble over the years." Light brown eyes dug into crimson-salmon ones, but were somewhere else, traveled off to a distant memory. The smile vanished within a matter of seconds, crushed by what ever unpleasant memorie crossed his mind.

Suddenly snapping back to reality, he blinked and returned to normal. A smile returned, but it wasn't _the_ smile. This one was fake, strictly buisness along with his calm slanted eyes. "Don't act like a dog here, and you won't be treated like a dog, aru. This place isn't a prison, but it can easily become one if you deserve it. Behave and do what we ask, which really isn't much, and you'll be rewarded, aru." He signalled the men to escort Gilbert out of the office.

Gilbert growled, but didn't struggle as the guards led him out the door. He knew that West wasn't dead. Something told him that he was alive.

The thought of losing his brother was terrifying and didn't seem to fully click in the Prussian's brain. He kept his head to the ground and his mouth shut in hopes that if he behaved, he'd finally get to see West again.

...

"Hello."

Roderich clenched his teeth and braced himself. "_Hallo_, _Schwester_."

"R-Roderich?" Disbelief sounded in her thick voice and Roderich knew she was blushing.

"_Ja_." He answered.

Silence. He had expected this. They hadn't spoken once since Hella had passed and Alvar left, which was over three years ago.

"Well...what are you calling for, bruder?" She still sounded a bit flustered, but her voice had become cold again. "You better not be wasting my time. I have work to do, you know."

"I need your help."

"Help? Help with what?"

"Gilbert and Ludwig...they've...gone missing."

(The profanities that Vash yelled into the phone after that were too inappropriate and had to be cut out.)

Roderich held the phone a foot away from his ear while wincing. When the screaming eventually stopped, slowly and carefully, Roderich replaced the phone to his ear. "V-Vash? Are you still-"

"YOU IDIOT!" He pulled the reciever away again. "HOW COULD YOU LET SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPEN! ?"

"Vash I-"

"No, I don't want to hear it-"

Roderich took a deep breath. " I zink it has somezing to do with DISC." He managed to squeeze in the sentence without interuption, sending his sister into silence.

"What makes you think that? I thought Hella cut off her horns for a reason." Her voice now held a forbodding calmness to it, something the Austrian hadn't heard in years.

"They gained their family marks, _Schwester_. What Hella did, didn't work." The pianist stated grimly. "Once I realized it, I tried to get zem to safety, but..." He trailed off, his throat constrcting in guilt and shame. "I failed."

"B-but how? And at the same time?" Vash became silent once again, disbelief overpowering her senses. "Roderich."

"_Ja_, I'm still here." The older brother's voice had grown weak and modest. "Vash, zis was my responsibility..."

"_Nein_, bruder. It was Alvar's."

"But he isn't here anymore."

"Yes, I know."

More silence traced back to painful memories.

"I'll see what I can find, bruder. There are so many placements, but odds are that if they were taken away near home, it will be in the North or Baltic sea and I'm stationed close by." The Swiss woman concluded, giving her distressed brother a sliver of hope. "Did you see who caught them?"

Roderich shook his head, then remembered he was on a phone and added a quick no.

Vash sighed. "We finally talk to eachother again and it has to be over something like this." She took in a breath and Roderich could hear the rustling of something metalic. Probably her gun. "But then again, that's one of the reasons why I took this job."

"Vash-"

"I doubt that they sent them to hell, since it's illegal if they were not born there. I'm stationed at Cerberus right now, but I can find a way to get off. I'll find them, I promise."

And with that, she hung up. Vash was never one for good byes and Roderich knew that all too well. He wasn't either.

Forcing himself to stand and ignore the pain in his head, he called for Eliza to retrieve the car.

...

"What the hell?" Gilbert stared at the room before him, shocked.

It was an exact replica of his and West's room back in Germany. Everything was the same, the beds, West's book shelves, the nightstand, and the color of the curtains and walls. Everthing save there not being a window and one of the beds being vacant. The Prussian sighed once the door behind him closed for who knows how long, leaving him in this false place.

He fell back on his bed ( it even felt the same ) and closed is eyes. He wondered if they had snatched this stuff from their actual room. The thought angered him, but he forced himself to calm down and just be greatful for the luxury of any other color other than white in this place. Besides, if he behaved, they might let him see his brother.

Suddenly, a thought occured to him. This is the first time they had been seperated for over a day.

Stunned, Gilbert sat up and looked over to the empty bed next to his.

_Were we really that close?_

No, not once. Not that he could remember. They'd always been together.

Except for now. In his mind, he and his younger brother were day and night, complete opposites. Yet, they'd always been there for eachother.

Gilbert sighed and fell back onto what he assumed was his bed

_And I had taken it for granted..._

**I'm trying really really hard not to rush this fiction, so I apologize if it seems a bit slow. Don't worry though, it'll pick up soon like alot of stories tend to. Also, if any of you can think of a certain city that would be a good setting for part of this fic ( good as in it's big and I could do alot with it ) and give me the reasons why, please do so. It doesn't really matter if it's in Europe or the US and I'd really appreciate the suggestion. Thanks a bunch and have a very pasta day!**


	7. Solitude's a Bitch

**Hey guys! I finally managed to put this together! Yay! *sighs* Sorry it took so damn long -_-...**

**But yes, here it is! The next chapter of Demon Brothers. Now, I'm gonna go ahead and spoil it. No Ludwig in this chapter (WHYYYYYY! ? D:). I'm sorry to fellow Germany fans. He's my favorite character, which is exactly why he's not in this chapter. I want to even it out ya know.**

**But he'll show up again soon. Enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW!**

_Why is it...Why am I...?_

The intense heat incased him from every corner of his body, dying to be released. Gilbert tossed and turned, his fingers subconsciencely digging at the silver ring that hugged his neck.

It seered him.

He could feel the concentrated shocks stabbing at his skin as the power built up within him, causing the collar to counteract.

Finally managing to open his eyes, Gilbert gasped when he saw that he was surrounded by flames. He didn't even get a chance to breath before the room around him literally exploded with fire.

...

There was almost a sense of hurt, betrayal even, as the half demon felt the scorch mark on his neck where the collar had once been.

He didn't remember this happening last time when he had...combusted. Yet, when he glanced at his arms, he could see the grotesque, red patches of skin that had been unlucky enough to get burnt.

He rubbed them bitterly.

Somebody with natural blonde hair would have a hard time seeing their arm hair. But for a true albino like himself, his hair was practically invisible.

When he rubbed down his forearm, the Prussian found that he couldn't feel any hair on the patches, nor could he feel it on parts of his legs either. He came to the conclusion that it must have been singed off during the fire.

He couldn't help but ponder the reason why only those spots were damaged, yet the hair on his head went untouched. It was as if the chaotic had to escape through his body like a venting system or something.

And now that he thought of it, his fever had been growing worse the past few days, but he felt just fine now, if not a little fried on the inside. And outside.

He coughed and rubbed at his throat. "It's unlike me to overthink things like this."

_Yeah, that's more West's domai-_

He stopped himself.

He didn't want to think about his brother, because he knew that it would only make him more ill.

He hadn't seen West in what he guessed were weeks, maybe months. He hadn't seen much of anybody actually, other than a few guards here and there that would bring him stale food and water. He was pretty sure that they had put some type of drugs in it ( which might explain the weird dreams ), but he figured that it was better than going insane from lack of human interaction, so he complied. But it was still difficult to go on without knowing what happened to his brother.

He closed his eyes, trying not to think about things, but it was futile.

What if he'd never got out of here? What if he would never see the outside world? What if he did go insane? What if...

The image of his brother covered in blood and passed out dragged itself across his hazy mind and he officially could not take it anymore. Like a rubberband, the albino shot himself out of the lone chair he had sat in and began banging his fists on the surrounding, eggshell-white walls.

Despite the hoarsness of his voice, the Prussian still managed to scream as loud as he ever could. He screamed and pleaded until his lungs were set afire and his tears nearly ran dry.

"Let me out, _gott verdamnt_! I can't fucking take it anymore! Come on you fucking cowards!" Afterwards, he began screaming in his natural Duetsch language before he finally broke. "GAHHHHHHH!" Gilbert slammed his fists one final time before his breath ran out and his knees buckled, allowing him to slide onto the floor and curl into a fetal position.

There, he allowed himself to cry for a few moments until he was unable to anymore.

Before all of this happened, he would have never let himself act so pathetic, so weak.

But he didn't care anymore. Nothing mattered. He knew that he'd die here.

...

It felt like hours before Gilbert was able to peel himself off the ground and lumber back to his previous sitting place. Now that he took a good look at it, he noticed that instead of a chair, the piece of furniture more closely resembled what you might find at a doctor's office.

That couldn't be true though, considering that it was literally the only thing in the room. Well, other than him of course.

He sat back down, his raw face buried in his hands.

When he pulled back, the first thing that caught his eye were the rune marks that encircled his arms.

He grimaced. "I can't believe I thought these things were awesome." Growling, he dug his nails into his arm as if he could peel the black streaks off of his pale skin. He didn't stop until he drew blood.

Not even bothering to clot the flow, the half demon exchanged hurting himself out of frustration, for staring blankly at the equally blank wall. His bleeding arm fell limply to his side as he gazed on.

After a while, Gilbert found himself doing something strange. Very lightly, his fingers would trace things in the vacant air, pretending that there was a canvas at their tips.

Actually, now that he thought of it, the walls here did kind of remind him of a canvas, which was strange considering that he had never taken up art. The men in his family were usually more of the athletic type, save that damn aristocrat...

Ignoring the longing he was feeling to see his uncle again, Gilbert stood once again and walked to the wall, eyeing it curiously.

His hand raised, his fingers indecisively glided through the air, trying to determine a starting point. He bit his lip in angst before finally touching down on a spot near his left shoulder.

Only, when he tried to create, nothing stuck, for he had nothing to paint with.

Then he looked back at his arm.

Before he even realized what he was doing, Gilbert found himself dipping the fingers of his dominant extrimity into the red substance, then tracing a picture on the wall.

He'd mess up a couple of times and end up smearing the blood in frustration. But when he tried to refresh his "supply", he had found that it had clotted and had to draw some more.

Proceeding with an unfinished attempt, the Prussian found that he was drawing a star with a circle around it. Once finished, he recognized it as a penticle.

Staring, the Prussian recognized a familiar tingling sensation in his arms. He didn't even have to glance down to see that his marks were glowing again.

The equally radiant magic circle on the wall was proof enough.

He approached it and reached out, his skin crawling with anticipation. He even found himself sweating as he grew closer, his finger tips sparking and his marks burning in sync.

When the artist had finally touched his creation, he found that it was like a breath of fresh air.

The anxious breath that had remained immobile for the past few weeks finally left his lungs, allowing the Prussian's shoulders to slump and his muscles to relax.

His knees buckling slightly, Gilbert stared at the penticle intently, still not understanding why he drew such a thing.

Then suddenly, the rims of the circle bloomed into a thin crown of flame.

Tha Prussian blinked.

_Did I...?_

Shaking his head, Gilbert retouched the blood painting, almost frightened by how right it felt. This time, the fire didn't burn him, nor did it hurt him, much to Gil's delight.

"So I just have to treat ya well." He grinned through his hazy mind. "Let's see what else you can do for the awesome me." Focusing all of his strength into the penticle, Gilbert spread his hands across the wall and took a deep breath. It wasn't until he exhaled that something miraculous happened.

The fire grew and the wall seemed to melt, but only in the specified area. Soon, he could see the room next to his. And the room next to that. And the room next to that and so on until he found something he never knew he could miss so much.

The moon.

After the shock had cleared, a happy cry soothed Gilbert's throat. Overjoyed, he attempted to reach through the hole, but found that it was still solid, like he had X-ray vision or something.

Still, he wasn't the least bit disapointed by his new discovery.

At least not until he heard somebody approaching.

**Sorry dudes. Had to cut it off somewhere. ^_^'**

**I think I'm finally getting the spark back for this story, but that's for now at least. Not to mention that I've been a little preoccupied with Deviantart. If you want to look at my page, I go by the same name on there: Yubitsume. I might even draw some art for this story if you guys would like.**

**Also, do y'all think I should put pairings in this fic. I want to, but I want to know what my readers think first. If yes, then tell me some you like. If it's yaoi, I'll just genderbend it ( sorry, I know that stuff like that gets on some people's nerves ).**

**Well, that's it for now. Until next time, have a very pasta day!**


	8. Family

**Okay, so I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and I've decided to change a few things. Nothing major, so don't worry, but I thought that I should go ahead and tell all of you.**

**((((SO PLEASE LISTEN)))):**

**1) I changed Vash's name to Heidi.**

**2) I'm no longer writing in the accents because I have realized how annoying and pointless it is.**

**3) And I don't know why I added a third one.**

**Thank you, enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW!**

He wasn't aware of where he was, or what was going on. The only thing that was relevent to Ludwig was the pain and the fact that there were people around him, each messing with a particular limb or other part of his body. Everything seemed urgent, panicked even.

"I don't know. His blood pressure has just plummeted." A voice to his right said, sounding frustrated and alarmed.

"Do you have any idea what could be causing it?" One with a higher voice asked stupidly.

"If I did, do you think that we'd be here right now?" The frustrated one bit back.

"Will you two stop bickering!" Another voice, a woman's, came in. "It doesn't matter what is causing this, just so long as we fix it for the moment."

"For the moment?"

"Well, we can't just let him die, can we?" Her tone suddenly switched to cool. "We were in some deep shit the last time that happened, remember. Not to mention that we still don't know what family this one branches off from."

"But weren't DNA samples sent in?"

"Yes, but they came back as inconclusive. For both of them." The woman said in a perplexed tone. "It's odd, really. Their DNA is so close. It acts almost in sync."

Ludwig fidgeted and weezed as his mind tried to claw its way back to the surface of his senses. Everything was bleak and he just felt drained, like he was running low on oxygen. But when he tried to breath, his chest would constrict in defiance, like it was cased it cement or quick sand.

He knew deep down what was going on, but he just couldn't manage to piece it all together.

He did recall something that happened a few days ago, before he felt like such utter shit.

"And how long have you been feeling like this?" The doctor had asked him.

Ludwig frowned, wishing that his hands would just stay still. He pressed the left one on his face in hopes that it would stop the shaking. It didn't.

"I don't know." He answered in an unsteady voice, wishing that his brother was there. Or his uncle, or Eliza, or just somebody that could lend him some support.

"Well, I can't help if you don't tell me anything." The man said, his voice rising the slightest bit, like a chiding parent. Ludwig scowled, not appreciating being treated like a child.

"I honestly don't know. However long ago it was that I was brought here." His voice was shaky, and he didn't know whether it was from his current state, or the fear that came with it.

The doctor noted this and grasped the German's arm, stretching it outwards. He dexterously ran his gloved fingers down the boy's muscled limb until he reached the point to where back tissue merged with that of his biscepts. Ludwig's teeth compacted as he forced heated air through them.

His pain didn't signal the doctor to cease though, but rather to explore the demon's reactions further. He asked Ludwig where the pain was the worst.

"The shoulder blades." He grunted out, trying to be as coopertive as possible.

He had been pulled from his room a few days back and put into some type of infirmary when they noticed that his health was stagnating. Ludwig didn't complain, finding it as a relief that they weren't going to neglect him like some kind of a dog.

That meant that his brother would be cared for too.

Right...?

Ludwig's neck jerked upwards once the medical man had made direct contact with one of the bruises, leaving his waned blue eyes to explore the high ceilings.

The place was rather large, actually, and held something that Ludwig didn't think he'd ever see in this place.

Windows.

They were large and narrow, similar to something you might find in a church ( Ludwig wondered if the room had been renovated ).

He didn't understand why they would allow something like that here, in a place that was meant for confinment, but did notice how they'd close a select few each night, one of which being his. As for the rest, he did not know, for the beds were seperated using large pillars, each with strange markings, like some type of ancient Hebrew writings. When Ludwig would try to touch one, it would literally force him back, like a magnetic force.

The walls and ceiling around the windows owned the same type of symbols as well, but that still didn't stop Ludwig from trying to plot a way through one of them.

So he'd wait. Night after night, wondering how he could escape. How he would escape.

"Ludwig."

The German faced his left, to where the voice had come from. He braced his nerves once he saw who it was.

"Don't call me that." He warned passively.

Yao laughed as if Ludwig were a yapping puppy, rather than a half-demon. What freaked the German out was how genuine the man's laugh would always ring, and how it would just echo in the ears, even in the long nights where he'd just stare at the windows.

"I believe that the doctor was asking you something." He grinned cheerfully from the corner of the German's room, accompanied by the other asian man that was with him last time.

Ludwig blinked, unaware that any words had been aimed at him. He looked back down at the doctor, who had a look of impatience stamped to his face.

"W-what?" The German blushed.

"Have you been feeling any movement underneath the shoulder blades?" He repeated, this time, very slowly and in a computerized voice.

"I..." Ludwig stuttered indecisively, wishing that he wouldn't have been distracted.

"Y'know what." Wang Yao stepped forward, grabbing the doctor's shoulder. "I think that Ludwig here is feeling a bit under the water. Why don't you leave him to me."

The doctor stood, gathering his tools. "As you wish."

He then left the room without another word.

Ludwig watched closely as the man passed through the invisible wall with ease. He wondered...

"Don't get any ideas." Yao threatened, his voice suddenly turning cold.

Ludwig's attention snapped back to the asian man, marveling at how somebody who was nearly a foot shorter than him could be so intimidating.

He said nothing and moments later, Yao's smile returned.

"You're much more complient than your brother."

The half demon's brows furrowed uncontrollably at the man's statement. "What are you trying to say?" He growled.

The younger man with the black hair stepped forth, placing his hand on his sword handle menacingly. Ludwig stepped back.

Wang gave his alley a look that said for him to back down. The brown eyed stared at his boss for a moment before standing down obediantly. Yao smiled warmly.

"I apologize for that. My brother is just protective."

Ludwig's brows furrowed in perplexion. His...brother.

Yao looked practically giddy. "Yes, this is Kiku. My kid brother." He gestured towards Kiku like a hostess on a prize show.

Kiku bowed.

"What do you want?" The German grunted, trying to ignore the throbbing that was eminating from his upper back.

"_Ai ya_, you Westerners can be so rude!" The man scoffed. "I was just checking up on your condition."

"My condition?"

Just like all of the other times, Yao's lips tilted downwards without notice. Ludwig couldn't help but feel uneasy from this.

He stepped forward, his eyes showing that his mind had gone somewhere else.

"Are you aware of what those marks mean, ?"

Ludwig held his jaw in a set position and decided that the outcome would be less destructive if he didn't speak. Still, his head wondered, like it always did.

_They were given to my brother and I by our mother_, was the first thing that his brain said without hesitation.

"They represent family." Yao answered in somewhat of similarity.

_Family_, Ludwig thought, with minor interest. _Family..._

Wang smiled, and this time, to the German's surprise, it appeared that something lay underneath it. Something close to sorrow.

"There is strength in family, you see. Its bonds are something that have the potential to either build up trust and love, and create a stable life," he paused for dramatic emphasise.

The blond remained silent, mezmirized by the man's words, but also leery of them.

"Or..." He could have sworn that he heard a crack in Yao's silky voice.

The man's eyes were still absent as he finished. "They can be used to destroy those lives instead." He stretched his index finger outwards and pointed at Ludwig, directly at the forehead.

"Tell me Ludwig, do you know who has the ability to do such a horrible thing?"

Ludwig coughed uncomfortably. "I don't see the point of th-"

"Who has hurt you the most in your life?"

With those words, flashes of imagery ran through the German's mind.

_He could remember how lonely he had felt, he could still feel the cold drops of rain kiss at his cheeks. He could see the grey sky, in all of its dread._

_He didn't used to be this way. Things were happy at one point. When did they change?_

_He could see the flashing of the ambulence lights after they found him, and hear his brother's muffled voice as he hugged him and begged for forgiveness. Still, unlike him, Ludwig had refused to cry. His child face stayed still, unmoving and dry of tears. Why was that? Was it to spite him-he looked back at the house-_

_to spite that man?_

"I've never been hurt." Ludwig said indifferently.

Yao chuckled at this. Ludwig hated that.

The older of the two asians made his way towards a section of the "room" that held a newly implanted sink and a few shelves of bathroom supplies. He picked up a mirror.

"In hell, there is no organization- no society. It's all about taking what ever you can get whether you need it or not, and getting it by any means possible." He held the mirror behind Ludwig, allowing him to see the full extent of his family marks.

"So," he continued. "Family, down their," He pointed down to the floor, "is near impossible. But up here, a demon can prosper- or rather, a demon _family _can prosper. And it doesn't take long, either. Female demons are strong, and their offspring usually only take up to three months in the womb, so reproducing is rarely a problem."

Ludwig remembered being told that he and Gilbert were both born early. He wondered how _early_.

"What is your point?" He asked reluctantly, staring at the marks in the mirror.

"There are different families, some bigger than others." He continued. "They are divided into clans and usually have a pure line of blood, and-" He pressed his finger against Ludwig's back. "A very specific set of family markings."

"So you think that I'm from a...clan?" The word felt wrong on Ludwig's lips. Too barbaric in a sense.

"Very possibly. But your blood seems like anything but pure, considering your human side."

Ludwig held back his retort.

"The full picture here is something good though."

"And how is that?"

"You've been scared about what is happening to your body, haven't you?" He said in a voice that was almost unmistakably empathetic.

Ludwig blushed, not dreaming to talk about his fears or his _body _with someone like Yao."That's redundant. I-"

"So you don't deny it." He smiled a smile that made him seem like a mother ( Ludwig could see it clearly in the mirror ). "Well, you should be thankful then. For DISC finding you and your brother, I mean. When two demons reach maturity together, especially under the possibility of them not being in a single clan, things can get ugly."

Ludwig wanted to ask more, but didn't want to hear about he and his brother ripping eachother's throats outs.

"The possibility that you two belong to a clan makes it an easier job for us to manage your...bodily changes."

"Changes?"

"Well, yes. You've been experiencing them, haven't you?"

Ludwig remained silent.

He laughed adoringly. "It's quite all right. No need to be ashamed. It's just natural, and the benefits that follow are usually right for the reaping, aru."

Ludwig wriggled a brow at that. _Benefits?_

"But," his voice became stern once more, but still resembled that of a mother's. It left Ludwig with a sense of longing. "Half-demons, like you and your brother, lack something in their DNA. They're...unstable."

Ludiwg's eyes narrowed. _Unstable?_

"That's exactly why you both need to stay here. It's a matter of safety to you, and all those around you."

Ludwig couldn't swallow this. _Stay here! For how long? Their whole damn lives?!_

He'd rather be dead.

Then Ludwig thought back to when Roderich was trying to help them get somewhere safe. He tried to get them to safety, and that resulted in him getting injured and wrecking his car.

What good did that do?

Then there was the time when Gilbert tried to do...what ever he was doing, and accidently set himself on fire. He was lucky to not have gotten hurt, but...

...what if it happened again?

Ludwig thought, what was the point of living, if they were just ticking time-bombs.

Then again, he could be making something out of nothing.

"Here, we can help you two surpress, and maybe even control your demon side." He placed the mirror back on the shelf and faced Ludwig. "What do you think those collars are for?"

Ludwig had to fight the urge to tug at the metal ring around his neck.

"We can't do that ourselves?" He questioned. "You say that you're helping us, but then why did you have to kidnap my brother and I?"

"Because you belong to DISC now. It's law." Yao explained, as if that justified the violence he had brought into their lives. "Not to mention that we still don't have a hold on your condition. I'm still perplexed by this just as much as you are."

Ludwig doubted that.

"And how is that?" He snarled, being sure to put as much venom in his stare as possible.

Yao didn't answer, unaffected. Instead, he receeded in his own head, mumbling gently to himself.

Ludwig's mouth set out like it did when he became over-stressed ( which was often ). He even felt a tad bit quesy for some reason. Maybe even light-headed.

"Well," The womanly man started. "None can be said until we know where your roots lay, but the blood tests both failed for some reason. Even on the second and third attempt. I assume that somebody tampered with your blood when you were young."

"Tampered...with my blood." And Ludwig thought he found the word "clan" unsavory. He could feel his limbs shaking now, but it wasn't from the shock. Something was wrong.

Another sharp pain hit his back, this time, much worse than the others. Paralyzing. He grabbed onto one of the nearest thing- which happened to be a shelf- and shreiked in surprise before becoming dizzy and slowly passing out.

**Sorry, had to stop writing eventually. Man, that was a work-out. Hope you guys enjoyed it**. **I was mainly using this chapter to explain some things, and to finally allow Ludwig to show back up. I've been getting some really good ideas though, and can't wait to write them all ( and how is this related to Hetalia, I ask myself ).**

**Thanks and have a very pasta day/night!**


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